Dead or Something of that Sort
by Taylor King
Summary: Following the events of Dead to the World, Hallow's family shows up looking for revenge. Includes themes/characters mentioned in Book 2
1. Chapter 1

I hadn't seen Stan Davis since Dallas, but he really hadn't changed. He was still carrying his geeky, nerdy appearance. In fact, I think he might have enhanced it a bit because the belt he had wrapped around his waist seemed a few sizes too big so that it intentionally caused his pants to crinkle beneath it.

I had no idea why Stan was in Shreveport. All I knew was that Eric had called me the night before (yes, called-himself) and told me to come for the occasion. When we'd seen him in Dallas, Stan hadn't shown any interest in visiting Louisiana-let alone Shreveport. Yet, here he sat.

I stole a quick glance to my left at Eric to see if he'd asked the $10,000 question. But he seemed to be watching Stan with as much curiosity as I was. The three of us sat for another moment, staring at our drinks (their True Bloods and my Coke) until I couldn't really take it anymore.

"So what brings you to Shreveport?" I tried to ask it as politely as I could. I was waiting for sign of displeasure from Eric, but hey someone had to ask! But next to me, Eric perked up and shot me what I could guess was a grateful look. Stan of course didn't answer right away. He picked up his bottle, took a quick sip, eyed the bottle, and then took another sip. Finally, the bottle was back down on the table and he was looking at us.

"Did you have some dealings with a witch awhile back?" He looked questioningly from Eric to myself.

Neither Eric nor I answered. I didn't want to respond until he did. If Eric didn't want every other vampire in the world knowing what had happened with Hallow and her followers, well, I sure wasn't going to be the one to spill the beans.

"Unfortunately, yes." Eric spoke first as he leaned forward onto the table. "If by "a witch" you mean a woman who cursed me when she failed to obtain the business dealings she had hoped for."

"That'd be the one." Stan picked a thread from the sleeve of his blue and white striped shirt. After he'd let it fall to the bar floor, he looked up at us.

"What did you do to her?"

This time, Eric and I both turned to look at one another. I wasn't sure how much Eric knew about what had happened. I, on the other hand, had witnessed much of the entire ordeal. Except for-.

Involuntarily, my head turned to glance behind me where Pam standing near the bar. She knew exactly what had happened in that area where I was sketchy.

Stan's eyes followed my gaze and a new look crossed his face. I could only describe it as a combination of lust and interest. I couldn't say I blamed him. I had thought I looked cute in the snow white, peasant-y type blouse with tiny blue flowers that I splurged on at the Macy's in Monroe and my new beaded sandals (also from the same shopping trip), until I'd got to Fangtasia and seen Pam's wrap around black pencil skirt and white, low cut wrap around blouse that left about four inches of skin between them.

"Who is that?" Stan asked, with a heavy hint of interest in his voice. Eric flicked his eyes in the direction of Stan's gaze, but didn't turn around to see who he was looking at.

"That is my partner here at Fangtasia." Eric informed him. "And she's also my child." He said the last part with a note that informed Stan that he had best watch his intentions with Pam.

"Interesting." Stan murmured thoughtfully. "Did she have any dealings in this?"

Again, there was a pause.

"She was in charge while I was incapacitated." Eric stated as though he was commenting on the paint color on the walls.

"Then I suggest she join in this conversation." Stan said, his eyes still glued to Pam. Eric shrugged. Pam was standing behind Eric a split second later.

"Excellent." Stan straightened his bottle of True Blood so the label was perfectly facing out. "Now as I was saying, what happened to the witch Hallow?"

"She's dead." Pam didn't hesitate. "I killed her myself."

"Good to know." Stan nodded, still eyeing the bottle of True Blood in front of him. "But that poses a problem."

"I don't see how a dead witch poses a problem." Eric stated. Stan glanced up, now turning his full attention to Eric and Pam while seeming to pretend I wasn't in the room.

"Did it ever occur to either of you," now Stan was looking at me, "that perhaps the witch had family? Beyond the brother she arrived with?"

Now it was time for Pam and I to exchange confused glances. Neither one of us had been particularly interested in Hallow's life story. Pam was protecting both her business interests-and her maker's interests. I wanted to help vampires who, while I wasn't sure as to how good of friends we were, they had saved my life on a couple of occasions.

"I don't see what concern this is of ours." Eric was beginning to look board. Pam folded her arms across her chest. The look written in her eyes wanted Stan to get to his point.

"You see," Stan looked at each of us in turn, "Hallow had a mother-and a younger brother and sister-who are each more powerful than Hallow."

Uh oh. Witches worse than Hallow? Was that even possible?

"This group passed through Dallas a few days ago." Stan turned his look directly to Eric now. "They were looking for Eric Northman. They know Hallow was mixed up with you before she disappeared. I personally said nothing, but I can't speak for the other vampires in Area 9."

I wished I could sense what Eric and Pam were thinking. Their faces weren't giving any indication whatsoever. Stan looked at me for an instant, and then went back to Eric.

"So you came to warn us?" Eric asked. "That we should be prepared for these….visitors?" Stan nodded, his eyes glued to Eric's.

"Rumor has it around my vampires, that this group may be behind the disappearance of three very old vampires from the Tampa area. If they've drained their blood, revenge fueled V drinking werewitches would be a force to be reckoned with."

Stan picked at the label on his bottle. I almost made the joke that everyone at Merlotte's always made about people who picked at their labels and sexual tension, but decided it would be lost to my current audience.

"I appreciate your concern for our well being." Eric looked and sounded like he was thinking hard on the subject. That concerned me.

"No problem." Stan said, laying a strip of True Blood label on the table. "As soon as I heard your name, I figured that whatever had gone down had best be kept unsaid. Who knows what might happen otherwise."

Eric nodded, apparently seeing the problem in all of this.

"I suppose you'll be on your way out of town now?" Stan shrugged at this.

"Oh, I don't know." He said lazily as he pushed himself out of his chair. "I can always find something to keep me in town."

The last part was spoken directly to Pam. He was looking her over with a look that could only be described as pure lust.

"Buy you a blood, darling?" He asked. Pam gave him a sly smile, tossed her hair over her shoulders and started towards the bar. Stan followed after her with the stride of a vampire who hadn't been waiting until his business deal was finished to ask out a pretty female vampire.

Eric appeared to care less about Pam and Stan's interaction, but I felt like I had just been thrust into an episode of "National Geographic-Vampire Edition." In all of my dealings with the undead, I had never seen two actually interested in one another. I could practically hear the announcer's voice as I turned to watch Stan join Pam at the bar.

"I've never seen two vampires interested in each other." I turned in amazement to look at Eric, who was still lost in his own thoughts. He shrugged, even less interested than I thought.

"Pam has given me all of the details from the time when I was…away. If these witches do turn up here, it would be in everyone's best interest that we have our story straight."

I waited for a moment. A lot of Hallow's number-including her brother-had fallen. How much rage were these three new witches carrying? And how many followers would they be interested in avenging?

"Eric, that night was a blood bath…for everyone." I began slowly. "Weres died, witches died….Chow died, the other vampires were hurt…"

"I imagine these witches are only interested in two of the dead." Eric stared at the table in front of him as though the wood was the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen. "And if you and Pam might have had anything to do with their deaths, they aren't going to like that."

That was what I was afraid he'd say. But at least he'd introduced the elephant in the room.

"What are we going to do?"

"Someone will be outside your house-day and night." Eric stated, still not taking his eyes from the table. "I want you to stay in Bon Temps, pretend you have never heard of vampires. If anyone, even someone you know, asks you any questions about us, feign ignorance. Do you understand?"

"Yes, but what will you do?"

"I will circulate word to the other Area 5 vampires not to say a word about those incidents. As far as we will be concerned, Hallow passed through her. We worked out an arrangement and she went about her way. There was no bloodshed."

"Do you think that will…."

"Hopefully." Eric gave a little shrug. He picked up his bottle and got to his feet. "You should be getting home."

"How are you going to explain Stan's visit?" I asked as I stood up. "Don't you think they'll be suspicious when they just talked to him and now he just happens to be on vacation here?"

"He has made his own alibi." Eric turned his head towards the bar where Pam and Stan seemed to be involved in some sort of conversation. "I am sure they will understand."

I nodded mutely. The growing stabs of dread in my stomach were rapidly increasing. I had been uneasy about Stan's visit, nervous when he begun speaking, and now was borderline afraid.

"Eric, everything _will_ be ok, right?"

"Of course." Eric gave me a bright smile as he led me across the barroom towards the main door. "Eventually."


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone! Thanks for reading. A couple of quick things, disclaimer…yeah, I don't own any of the SVM characters. Also, Winifred Sanderson is one of the witches in "Hocus Pocus" so I don't own the rights to her either. I'm not 100% thrilled with how this chapter came out, but I have a whole story to expand on themes…right? Reviews are ALWAYS appreciated!! 3 / Taylor

When I woke up the next morning, it hit me. Something had felt wrong about this situation since I had left Fangtasia the night before. There was a portion of this story that hadn't been adding up right. But at the hour I came home, I couldn't put my finger on it.

Now, after a good night's sleep, a shower, and a cup of coffee, I realized what it was-and was surprised Eric hadn't caught onto it.

Hallow's mother couldn't possibly be alive. Her parents' deaths had been the reason why she and her brother had come to Shreveport in the first place.

For a moment, I sat staring at the morning news. I wondered how I couldn't have remembered such a detail the night before. I also wondered why Eric hadn't said anything. But that could have been the reason why he seemed so lost in thought, because he knew that the story didn't add up.

So who was lying? Stan? Or the supposed witches he'd encountered?

All through the lunch shift at Merlotte's, I worried. I was nearly convinced that Stan had cooked up this entire story due to some alternative plan. But it didn't make sense what he could have wanted.

Pam seemed receptive to his attentions, and Eric was willing to assist him. Maybe something was going on with his area of vampires, something that required him to manipulate another group of vampires in order to obtain another level of control. By the time I left work at 4, I was sure of it.

I had to wait until after dark to be assured that I would reach Eric at Fangtasia. There might be a handful of humans there, but no one who could handle a sensitive matter like that. Eric wouldn't even have mentioned it to such creatures.

But when I called, it was Pam I reached on the phone. Which in a normal circumstance would have been just as good as reaching Eric, if she hadn't been connected to the prime suspect in this case.

"Fangtasia." She said the word in a manner that made you want to hang up the phone and pretend you'd never tried to call a vampire bar.

"Pam, it's Sookie. Is Eric there?" I felt bad rushing her through the conversation, but I wanted to talk to Eric in case this could be bad for her.

"Eric thought you might call. Hold on."

It took Eric only a few seconds to pick up the phone. Pam really hadn't wasted any time in letting him know.

"Sookie."

"Eric, I thought of something and-."

"That Hallow's parents are dead?"

"Yes, you-."

"Yes, I remembered the detail last night, but there was no point in raising the matter until I had a few words with Stan-alone."

"And?" If Pam was in the room, she could hear us. I didn't think Eric would be discussing this with me if he hadn't already raised the issue to her.

"And he and I spoke after you left last evening. I informed him of what I knew-or thought I knew-about Hallow's family. Stan doesn't know the history of Hallow that we do. She was not so great a witch that her legacy carried to Dallas."

I waited. So Eric had figured out as much as I did. Great. Now where did that leave us?

"Eric, someone's lying here. Either it's these witches or-."

"It is not Stan." Eric stated smoothly. "He was greatly surprised to learn of the development that I could tell him. Since dark, he's been making phone calls to his vampires back home to do further investigation the three claiming to be Hallow's family."

"So they can't be her family….at least not her mother."

"No, I'm certain the woman claiming to be her mother is most assuredly not whom she says that she is. The supposed siblings, well, I guess that could be a possibility. But we won't know anything for a night or so. Stan's people need time to do their research."

"So what do we do until then?"

"Nothing." Eric responded as though I had asked him what he wanted for his birthday. "Stan's contacts will come through. And Pam has gone home do go through some of the trinkets she kept of Hallow's to see if there is anything of useful information. Bill should be outside of your house, since it is dark and all. Do let me know if anyone shows up during the day though, yes?"

I felt better. Not good, but better. I didn't really want to be mixed up in all of this, but if Eric trusted Stan, well, that was close enough to making the situation acceptable. Vampires knew other vampires….I guessed. Even though Stan's contacts hadn't been exactly wonderful thus far.

"All right." I took a deep breath. "Eric, this is weird."

There was a pause. I wondered if I'd thrown a word out that Eric wasn't familiar with.

"Yes," he answered after a moment. "It is….weird."

That answered that. He had to think of what "weird" meant.

"I assure you, Sookie. This matter is being thoroughly investigated. We will have answers."

We hung up. For a moment, I wondered what I could do to help. And then I decided that I was going to let the supernaturals handle supernatural problems-and I was going to stick to human ones.

* * *

When I walked into my kitchen after work, Bill was sitting at the table. Not just sitting at the table, but talking on my phone while he sat. I froze. It wasn't every day you walked in on a vampire, who just happened to be your ex, carrying on a casual phone chat-in your own kitchen.

"She just walked in." Bill held out the phone to me. I raised an eyebrow as I took the receiver, but Bill made no inclination as to who was on the other end.

"Hello?" I asked suspiciously.

"Hi Sookie. It's Stan Davis."

Stan almost sounded conversational. I wondered if this was non-businesslike Stan or if he was in a really good mood. If the latter was the case, I didn't want to know what had him in that mood.

"Hi Stan." I responded cautiously. "What's new?"

"Eric and I were wondering if you could head down here to Shreveport. We need to explain a few things."

There were things that needed explaining? Ugh. In the past three days, I hadn't heard anything from my vampire friends. Bill showed up at the bar, had his bottle of blood, and then seemed to spend his evenings in a lawn chair outside of my house. But there had been no word from Eric regarding the new witches.

However, if Bill was sitting in my kitchen, and Stan was calling requesting that I come to Shreveport, something had come up. And I obviously didn't have a choice in the matter as to whether or not I went.

"All right." I said slowly as I looked at Bill. "I'm guessing Bill is coming with me?"

"You guessed correctly. Eric seems to think Bill will take good care of you."

Eric was right.

"We'll be there soon."

"Good." The phone clicked off. I put the receiver down.

"Wow, Stan sure is chatty." I rolled my eyes at Bill. Bill shrugged. He didn't seem too surprised. I guessed that was a vampire trait. Even Eric didn't seem to carry on a conversation longer than he needed to.

"Are you ready to go? Or would you like to change?"

"Might as well go as it." I sighed, shifting my purse higher on my shoulder. Bill nodded. He took my car keys out of my hand and walked outside before me. I followed without a word and got into the car. Bill took a moment to lock the house before we left.

"So what do you think about all of this?" I asked, glancing over at Bill when we were on the road.

"I think witches should never be trusted." He stated calmly. "And I think Stan Davis has spent a fortune in gold jewelry in the past two days."

"What?!" I gasped. I'd turned my attention to the passing nighttime scenery, but with that I suspected I might pick up something interesting for once.

Bill nodded, a ghost of a smile haunting his face.

"Eric asked me to come down yesterday night. Pam seemed to be wearing most of a jewelry store….at least on one of her wrists."

This was a first. I never knew that vampires cared for gossip-or for that matter that Bill cared for gossip.

"So Pam and Stan are…." I raised an eyebrow at Bill. Bill shrugged. After a moment, he decided.

"Close." He threw out. "But don't read much into it, vampires don't stay in relationships with one another for terribly long."

"How long is "terribly long"?"

Bill shrugged again.

"Anywhere from a few weeks to a few decades. One never knows."

That was apparently as much as I was going to get because Bill turned his attention back to the road and we drove on in silence for a few moments.

"Do you know what Eric's found out?" I finally asked. Bill pursed his lips and continued to focus on the road.

"He has….some new information."

"Good or bad?" I didn't really want to know, but I at least wanted to be prepared.

"Sookie," Bill found some reason to say my name, "when witches are involved, there is no good. Surely you must remember that."

I did remember. And I didn't want to see that type of fight again.

"Will we need the werewolves this time?"

Bill was silent for a long time. When he finally spoke, it was carefully.

"This situation is different. Very different."

That was it. I took a slow deep breath.

"Different how?"

Bill didn't answer, so I decided I didn't need to know right now. We rode in silence the rest of the way to Shreveport.

Fangtasia was open, but a number of vampires I knew by sight and not name were in charge. With the exception of Clancy, who was behind the bar. Bill gave them a few quick nods as he led me towards Eric's office. He knocked twice and then pushed the door open.

The office contained Eric who was seated at his desk, Stan who seemed fairly comfortable in one of the chairs directly across from it, and Pam who appeared to have just stopped pacing.

Before I bothered to determine the real reason I was here, I checked out Pam's accessories. Sure enough, a thick gold bracelet with some sort of purple stone dangling from it was linked around her wrist. And on her neck was an intricate gold necklace with small purple gemstones settled in the pattern. I had to hide the smile that threatened to reach my face.

"Glad you could join us, Sookie." Stan said, turning in his chair. I let the smile which had been threatening to reach the surface flash to Stan as a greeting.

"Always a pleasure." Eric stated, leaning back in his chair. His fingers were pressed together in front of him. He and Stan exchanged glances. I waited.

"So you guys found something?" I didn't want to wait any longer. If they had information, I wanted to hear it. This situation was sitting on me constantly. I wanted it resolved.

"My vampires and I did a bit of research," Stan began, glancing at the other vampires in the room. "In truth, I owe you all an apology. It was research I-personally- should have done before coming here."

Bill looked somber. Eric was waiting patiently for Stan to continue. And Pam had resumed pacing. Her arms were folded across her chest and for the first time I noticed that something wasn't right about her. Her normal confidence seemed to have been cut down with….nerves?

I personally was in shock. A vampire not only apologizing, but admitting he was wrong? Surely the world to end.

"So there's no one coming?" I asked it hopefully, even though I was sure Bill would have mentioned that on the drive down.

"Oh no, there's someone coming." Stan assured me. "It's just not Hallow's mother."

"Well, then…..?" I wasn't sure I liked where this was going.

"The woman, who claims to be Hallow's mother, is actually her aunt-her mother's sister, to be exact." Stan rested one foot on the leg of Eric's desk. He was wearing a pair of lace up brown Sketchers. They didn't seem to fight his image 100%.

"The two, who were supposedly Hallow's younger brother and sister are in actuality the aunt's children. They're from another coven. In Salam, Massachusetts."

Well, that was interesting. They were from the Witch Capitol of the World, so to say. I wondered if that made things worse since they were from such old witchcraft roots.

"So if they're from Salem…." I didn't finish the statement because Stan was already nodding.

"They are very, very skilled witches."

Everyone in the room seemed to be waiting for someone else to say something. Everyone, that was, except for Pam who frankly just seemed too restless to care what anyone else had to add. Eric glanced from Stan to me. I wasn't sure if he wanted Stan to finish the story or if he wanted me to ask a question.

"So?" I asked, finally deciding to just take the bait. "Are they more powerful than Hallow?"

Eric glanced at Stan again.

"Yes." Stan said, leaning forward in his chair. "Hallow's aunt is apparently very respected-and very well known-in the Wiccan community. It did not take long of my vampires asking some Dallas Wiccans to find that out. Which is why Hallow most likely did not bring them to Shreveport with her."

"If anything happened to her, this group would be the obvious choice to avenge her death. And her parents, if she failed." Bill remarked from where he was leaning against the doorframe. Eric nodded.

"She was not dumb. She came into Shreveport prepared to fight. And she had apparently considered what would happen if she didn't make it out of her fight alive. Having family in another coven was the alternative."

"She could not be accused of not having a back up plan. That's certainly for sure." Stan picked a loose thread from the sleeve of his purple checked shirt. I gave him credit for keeping up his appearance, yet throwing in a fun color like purple.

"So they're looking for us?" I asked. Four sets of eyes turned to look at me. The only one who looked slightly sensitive to why I wasn't following the vampire chatter was Bill; the rest apparently couldn't grasp the concept of why I didn't see exactly what the danger in this situation was.

"What makes this different from before? I don't get it." I shrugged.

"These witches are Hallow's blood relatives." Eric informed me. "And since they have Hallow's blood, they can use their magic for….." There was a long pause. "Other purposes."

Pam made a disgusted sound. I glanced at her, wondering what her issue was.

"So they're using their blood in their spells?" That didn't sound good to me. At all.

"It's a very old, and very powerful magic practice." Stan told me. "For when they want a very strong spell. Bodily fluids are big in that aspect."

That just sounded gross the way he worded it.

"So since they're using blood, what does that mean?"

"We do not know the details of the spell, what type they have cast." Eric had taken his eyes from me and was looking at Pam. "But the reason they are using their blood combined with magic is to track anyone who may have…..come into contact with Hallow's blood."

Well, that explained Pam's bad mood. And the fear the vampires were emanating. They were worried about protecting one of their own.

At Eric's words, Pam spun around on one heel and glared at Eric.

"I'd kill her again if I had to." She hissed before turning and throwing herself down onto the couch. "I don't regret anything!"

"Of course you don't." Stan said smoothly as he rose from his chair. "And no one blames you. Except, of course, for the Sandersons."

Pam glared at him for a second before snapping the bracelet from her wrist as effortlessly as thought it might have been a piece of embroidery floss. Stan shrugged, but didn't look even close to offended. In fact, he looked rather amused.

"Pam is the logical choice for their retaliation once they reach town and…. Look around." Eric appeared to be trying to look solemn, but his expression seemed to be picking up a bit of concern as well. "However-."

"However?" I pressed, not liking the sound of that word at all.

"Someone-we have no idea who-." Stan threw the last part into his statement. "Someone mentioned a female telepath to them."

"What?!" I gasped. Of course, my name had to get thrown into this. But who would have given it out? I didn't deal with the Dallas vampires but once, and now someone was mentioning me? "Who?"

"We don't know." Stan said, looking at Eric. "But we feel there may be an insider…somewhere in my vampires, or-."

"Mine." Eric said the word like he'd just said the worst curse word he could come up with.

"There was no reason for my name to come up!" I exclaimed. "I didn't do anything to Hallow. I mean, I helped out that night and I was there and all, but I never touched her or Mark."

"We know." From Eric's tone of voice, he appeared to be making a very faint effort to calm me down. It wasn't working. "But Stan's contacts heard that these three were mentioning your appearance as a person of interest in New Orleans just last night. Someone's mentioned you to them."

"So now what?" I felt defeated that I was going to have to fight through all this again. I felt that I had been successful in walking away from the fight with Hallow and her coven unscathed, but now her family had decided to turn up? How does this happen?

"I think that Pam will enjoy Dallas for a few days." Stan strolled over to the couch where Pam had thrown herself. I noticed his tone was firm, but his expression had softened considerably. Pam looked displeased, but nodded.

"Now, Sookie," Eric got up and turned to face me. "Perhaps Sam would offer you some time off? If Dallas with Stan and Pam doesn't suit you, I'd be willing to-."

There was a knock on the door. Without waiting for official approval Clancy opened the door. That struck me as incredibly odd. The other vampires always showed Eric so much respect that for him to just walk in without an official invitation seemed out of place.

"Master, you have some visitors. They say it's very important."

"You will tell them to wait." Eric's tone indicated that he was nowhere near impressed with the intrusion. "We will be-."

"Oh, I think you'll see me now, Mr. Northman." A woman with a halo of white hair stepped into the room from behind Clancy. She had bright, bright blue eyes that seemed to glow from within. She was clad in a black blouse under a cranberry red cardigan sweater. For some reason, she terrified me. I had no idea what it was. I'd laid eyes on Hallow, but she was nowhere near as frightening as this woman.

Behind her were two others. A younger woman with long, wavy blonde hair that looked like it needed badly cut, and a dark haired boy wearing black eyeliner who didn't appeared to be much older than me-if that. Both were wearing jeans, black t-shirts and combat books. The older woman was wearing a pair of moccasins beaded with an Indian design.

"Mr. Northman, I am Winifred Sanderson, and these are my children Sarah and William. I believe you were expecting us."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N....hello again! Thank you for reading! Despite how long this chapter is, it really isn't that exciting. But it needed done before we could get to the interesting stuff in the coming chapters. Reviews are always appreciated! See you soon :-) Taylor

All four vampires moved in a manner that indicated to me that they were trying to restrain themselves from doing something stupid-like ripping the heads off all three witches. All four were on their feet, so I did the same. Why, who knew, but I felt the need to stand. Maybe because it was easier to run from that position.

Bill turned slowly to face the newcomers. Eric rose to his feet and took a few steps towards the witches. His movement put him in front of me, which pushed me back closer towards Stan and Pam. Stan had moved directly between us. It was fairly obvious which of the two of us he would protect if the circumstances arose, but it was still comforting to be near a vampire.

"What can I do for you, Miss Sanderson?" Eric asked calmly.

"You know full well what you can do for me, Mr. Northman." Winifred dropped into the chair I had vacated and glared at Eric. Well, I guess it wasn't much of a glare, it was more of a very level stare which indicated that she meant business.

The Sandersons were human, and I had no trouble reading their minds. The girl-Sarah-was tired of spending so much time around vampires and Eric scared her-even though she thought he was hot. The boy was dead set on figuring out who in the room knew what had happened to Hallow. Winifred was thinking only of her next move and how Eric would react to her current one.

"Eric, these are the witches which passed through my territory a few days ago." Stan shoved Pam and I both out of his way with a hand.

"Stan Davis." Winifred looked up at him. "So sorry we didn't get to meet in Dallas. But your friends were quite helpful."

"If they were so helpful, perhaps you could tell me why you lied?" Stan asked, folding his arms over his chest. "You know very well your sister is dead, so why pose as her?"

That was a simple answer if you could read Winifred's mind. She had lied in order to flush out the people who knew what happened to Hallow. Anyone in Shreveport with the official run down on what had happened to Hallow's parents had been involved with their children. And we had stumbled right into her trap. I wished I could get a moment alone with Eric.

"My reasons are none of your concern." Winifred barely moved. She looked like a grandmother who should be baking sugar cookies and wondering what type of frosting to put on them.

"My family has a right to know what happened to my niece. So why don't we all start talking? Hallow was a very good witch-sometimes too good. Now I'm sure that she did not come to Shreveport with the most…" Winifred paused here. "..peaceful of plans. If we get all of the events out on the table, we can work out some compensation and there will be no need for further bloodshed."

Pam had moved a few steps closer to me. I personally thought that was in case the vampires needed a shield, I would come in handy. But at the mention of further bloodshed, I saw her tense.

"Yeah, so quit stalling!" William piped up in response to his mother's request.

"WILLIAM!" Winifred's voice startled everyone in the room. "Keep your thoughts to yourself."

William's thoughts were that he got a bad vibe from Pam-or a good one, depending on how you looked at it. He took a step closer to her. Pam hissed, her fangs extending.

"Enough." Eric looked at Pam warningly. "We've done nothing wrong, Miss Sanderson. There's no reason for threats. And you'll keep your boy under control."

"And you'll keep your whatever she is under control." Winifred answered in just as threatening a tone. Thousand year old vampire or not, the woman was not about to back down. "Hallow was in Shreveport and word has it that she tangled with a group of vampires before she passed on. Now you will tell me what happened, or you will point me to the group of vampires responsible."

William was circling Pam. He thought he knew something, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He looked hard at his mother. Winifred ignored him.

"Perhaps we should search the club? See if there is any indication of Hallow here? Vampires strike me as the type who keep souvenirs." She rose from her chair, looking at her children.

"I would like to see you try." Eric's fangs emerged. Bill's, Pam's and Stan's did the same. I flinched. Winifred smiled.

"I'm not afraid of vampires in the slightest, Mr. Northman. And don't touch me-or any of us. We wouldn't want a repeat of what happened before, now would we?"

Eric frowned. I suspected that he certainly didn't want a repeat of the last time when he'd lost his entire memory. He looked at Winifred, appeared to steady his calm, and then spoke.

"I admit that we had a run in with your niece some time ago, but it is over and there is no need to speak of such business now."

Winifred was going to get her answers-and you didn't have to read minds to figure that out. She folded her arms firmly over her chest and glared at Eric.

"This is your last chance, Mr. Northman. We work out a deal in return for whatever happened to my niece, or I will make all of you regret it."

"There is nothing for us to discuss." Eric held her gaze firmly.

"Then I suppose the decision is made." Winifred shrugged. "William. Sarah. Come." She strolled towards the door without looking back.

William's fascination with Pam was practically glowing. He was borderline putting all the pieces together and directing everything to Pam.

"But-." William's eyes were practically burning holes through Pam.

"I said come." Winifred was out of the door and approaching the main bar section. Sarah was trailing behind her, thrilled that she was getting away from vampires. William gave Pam another dark look, and then followed his mother.

As soon as the three were gone, everyone seemed to react.

"Why didn't you bargain with her? She's going to figure it out that Pam-." Bill hissed to Eric.

"Her son already suspects it." I jumped in. "Eric, they're going to-."

"You're coming with me tonight." Stan had given up his calm persona and had grabbed Pam's wrist with lightening speed. Pam ignored Stan, his question, and his grasp.

"I'm not afraid of them."

"I don't bargain with witches." Eric informed Bill. "Pam, go with Stan. Sookie, can I trust you to take her things to his hotel?"

"Eric, she was offering to deal. Maybe she would have-." I tried in vain to agree with Bill. I couldn't believe that Eric had once again turned down a reasonable deal to witches. This is what had started all of the problems last time.

"We are not dealing with them." Pam yanked her wrist from Stan's grasp. "No. Witches have come in here too many times thinking they could order us around and demand what they want because they can use their powers over us. I've had _enough_."

That surprised me. Pam must have been fed up because she had been so calm and collected the first time. She'd even wanted Eric to take the deals Hallow was willing to offer. If she was considering fighting, then things had gone down a totally different path.

"Stan." Eric said calmly.

Stan moved forward taking hold of Pam's upper arms.

"Come." He murmured, tugging her lightly towards the door.

"You're content to throw your own child to them?" Bill asked. Even he looked angry.

For a moment, we all looked around and waited. Then Eric got up from his desk and moved the short distance to Pam.

"Do you trust me?" He asked her seriously. Pam nodded firmly, her eyes locked with Eric.

"Nothing is going to happen to her." Eric was looking at Pam and Stan, but I suspected the answer was directed to Bill. "Stan."

"Come." Stan yanked Pam's arm again. He was older than her, and stronger. He must have pulled with meaning that time, because Pam went without a fight.

"So now what?" Bill asked flatly. He was apparently not buying this situation.

I didn't know what to say. If protecting Pam was the deal, that was certainly vampire problems. I couldn't help on that aspect.

"Where does this leave me?" I asked tentatively. I didn't really want to know. If Eric had an answer, it would probably be something I didn't like.

"Nowhere." Bill said sternly. "Absolutely nowhere. This doesn't concern you anymore." His eyes bore into the side of Eric's head.

"Do me the favor of taking Pam's things to Stan's hotel. And then Bill will see you home." Eric wasn't looking at either of us.

"Take Pam's stuff to her? How am I supposed to-."

"Bill will take you to her house. And I am sure you both can figure out what to pack. And Bill knows where Stan is staying. Go." Eric opened a drawer and held out a key, which Bill took.

I knew that we didn't really have a choice. Bill certainly didn't, since Eric was his sheriff.

"Let's go." Bill turned towards the door. I followed because I didn't know what else to do. Eric didn't say anything, or even seem to notice that we'd left the room.

"So now what?" I asked when we were sitting in the car. Bill rolled his eyes and pulled the car from his parking space.

"We get Pam's things and take them to the hotel."

"Hotel?"

"The vampire hotel downtown."

I hadn't know there was a vampire hotel in Shreveport.

"Since when was there a vampire hotel in Shreveport?"

Bill shrugged.

"Since Eric invested in an old building a few months ago."

Well, that was that. Vampires were known for how much money they had and Eric was always good at his investment skills. It shouldn't have-and it didn't-surprise me that Eric had been the one who decided to put a vampire hotel in Shreveport.

We drove out of the city limits towards the suburbs. I'd been to Pam's house before, but I couldn't remember the exact location. However, when we pulled into the driveway, I knew the house immediately. Bill pulled the key out of his pocket and unlocked the front door.

As soon as we were inside, I noticed the scent of sweet scented candles like you'd find in a Yankee candle store. Somehow, it didn't surprise me that Pam was the type to spend a fortune on expensive candles.

Vampires could see in the darkness, so Bill walked in and made straight for his location. However, I had to flip the light switch so I didn't break my neck.

The living room apparently had been recently redone. There was a faint smell of new products about it. The carpeting was a fuzzy while and the furniture was a springy shade of green. On the white walls were black and white framed pictures of flowers. It was very modern and chic. The carpeting made me flinch. Knowing Pam, she had to be frantic about keeping it clean. I was terrified I might make something fall out of place.

"Where am I looking?" I asked, looking towards the doorway where Bill was headed.

Bill pointed to his left.

"Pam's bedroom is the door at the end of the hall. Just find whatever you think a woman would want."

Great. What I might want-and what Pam might want-could be two different things entirely.

Pam's bedroom didn't look much different from other bedrooms. The floors were hardwood with fuzzy white floor mats beside the bed and green walls to match the living room furniture. The bed was made with a heavy white comforter and well fluffed large white pillows. The nightstands were made from a natural looking pine, but the bed was a dark metal. One corner of the room contained a dressing table that looked like an extremely valuable antique.

The only difference was the fact that her windows had been covered over with permanent window coverings and were made from a type of tinted glass I hadn't seen before. Further investigation on my part showed that the blinds appeared to have metal on the side which had been weld to the wall, but they were still free to be opened from the inside. Heavy curtains fell over them, giving them the final seal of vampire security. I figured there were lots of vampire specific products that I knew nothing about.

To my right, there was a set of doors that I suspected was the closet. But when I opened them, I literally had to take a step back. I was right, it was Pam's closet. And what a closet it was! I hadn't realized it was a walk in until the doors were opened.

On my left were two double racks of various items of clothing. Actually, it was every piece of clothing you could want-skirts, dresses, blouses, sweaters, everything and more. Directly in front of me was a low five drawer dresser. Hanging above it was all type of handbags. Some of them were in those fancy dust covers expensive purses came in. On their right were dozens and dozens of pairs of shoes neatly laid out on a double shoe rack while ran the length of the wall. I was amazed. Who needed that many shoes? Tara would have had a heart attack.

I found a light switch just beside the left wall and flipped it on. It made all the stuff inside look that much more impressive. And I had no idea what to select.

I saw a large brown leather bag sitting on the floor that looked good enough to use for all that I would need. But how much would I need? Enough for the night? The week? A month? I set the bag on the bed. That bought me some time as I had to walk back and forth.

I went for shoes first. There was a pair of purple suede tennis shoes that I thought I might have seen Pam wear once (which is all they appeared to have been worn), so I grabbed those. Near them was a pair of black pumps. Those seemed universal. They could go with anything. I grabbed those as well as a brown pair that looked like they had been made of a brown snakeskin yet trimmed in maroon (those really didn't look worn), and a pair of gold pumps with red soles. That seemed plenty and at least two more pairs than I personally would have needed.

I felt like I had just accomplished the easy part. Now I was going to have to sort through Pam's clothing. Fortunately at that moment, Bill walked into the room. He was talking on his cell phone and skimming the side of the room near the dressing table. He held out the phone to me. I took it hesitantly.

"Hello?"

"I thought you might need some assistance." Pam's voice said smoothly. "So I'll tell you what to look for. I want the Prada bag, hook on the far left, third one down, kaki colored dust cover."

Well, this was a help, of sorts. I went back into the closet, found the designated hook, and removed the first two bags. I found what I thought must have been the proper "dust cover". I opened it.

"It's brown."

"That's it. I want the Dolce and Gabbana. First hook from the right, third, no, forth one down. Black dust cover."

I followed her directions. Opened the bag.

"White?"

"That's it."

"How about clothes?" I asked, wondering if I was beginning to sound as annoyed as I felt.

"Bottom rack, right next to the door, is my Fangtasia attire. Take the purple corset, the black corset, the black leather pants, and one of the skirts. Only take skirts from that area for those clothes."

If I brought her another skirt from another part of the closet and it accidently touched these clothes, would she know? Probably.

"What else?"

"I don't care. Use your own jud-. Er, just find some basics. Let me talk to Bill."

I handed the phone back to Bill and rolled my eyes. He was holding a black leather case in his hand. I didn't ask where he'd found it or what it contained.

While Bill and Pam talked, I grabbed the Fangtasia clothes Pam had requested as well as a long black skirt with a slit up the side. Then I randomly grabbed two dresses, a pair of gray pants, black pants and jeans as well as a pink sweater, purple twin set and a blue sweater. I figured the only thing I didn't have was pajamas-and underwear. I had no desire to investigate Pam's underwear, but I didn't have much choice.

I yanked open the top drawer. The underwear looked wearable. I grabbed a random handful. The two drawers underneath it contained clothing that made me quickly close them again, but the two beneath it contained pajamas. I grabbed a pair of light purple ones made from a soft fabric.

Pam could make do with this stuff. If she didn't like it, she could send me back. Although I wasn't entirely sure why this was my job, Eric had to know her tastes better than I did. But he probably had more "important" things to do.

"Can we go now?" I asked Bill as I put Pam's clothes into a bag.

"Yes." He had closed his phone and was now holding a leather bag in one hand.

"What's that?" I nodded to the item.

"You'll see." Bill took the bag from the bed and headed towards the living room. I switched off the bedroom light and followed behind him.

"It's getting late." I glanced at my watch.

"I'll be fine." Bill assured me.

I started to follow him down the hallway, but stopped in front of the bathroom door.

"Wait, give me the bag." After the display that was Pam's closet, I wasn't sure I wanted to see her cosmetic collection, but I wanted to avoid coming back here if at all possible.

I turned on the light in the bathroom and shook my head. The counter had three sinks (one for each vampire obviously) and there was no doubt which was Pam's. Two out of three sinks had men's cologne and soap beside them, but Pam's had bottles in languages I couldn't identify as well as several large cosmetic bags. I opened one and saw it contained nothing but eye shadow. The second contained foundation and the third blushers. I guessed we would need all three.

I took those, plus the unidentifiable bottles and put them into the bag, which was almost full. I didn't think I'd ever packed this much stuff.

Bill shook his head as I handed him the bag and he tested its weight.

"Why do you women travel with so much?"

"I don't." I reminded him. He shrugged and headed for the door. I made sure the last of the lights were turned off and then headed after him, glad to be done with this totally confusing task.

When we pulled up the tall, dark building, I recognized it immediately as an old office building which had been shut down due to some sort of structural failure. According to the Shreveport paper, the company that had owned it had filed for bankruptcy. They'd tried to sell the property at sheriff's sale, but it kept being put off. I guess Eric had come along with interest and enough money to solve the problem.

The lobby was done in solid black walls that gleamed enough that you could see your reflection in it. The furniture was shades of orange and it reminded me of Halloween. Maybe that was what the decorator had been going for.

Bill pressed a button and the gold elevator doors opened to show our reflections again in mirrored car. As soon as we stepped in, he hit the button for the seventh floor. The doors closed and the car moved so quickly and silently that I barely noticed it was progressing.

The doors opened to reveal a hallway decorated just as the lobby had been except with gold carpeting running the length of it. Bill stepped out, focusing straight ahead. I guessed there was no need for me to ask if I should follow.

Bill stopped in front of a door on our left. The sound of music was drifting from inside. It sounded like Beethoven's Requiem or the Fifth or whatever its official name was.

Bill knocked quickly on the door-twice. The music stopped. A moment later, Stan Davis's voice called from the other side.

"Who's there?" His tone was firm and icy cold.

"It is us." Bill answered just as cold. There was a pause and then the sounds of locks clicking. Then the door opened and Stan was standing opposite us.

The Stan that opened the door must have been the real Stan-or rather the non geek Stan. He was dressed in an ankle length deep blue terry cloth bathrobe. His glasses were MIA and his hair was fluffier as opposed to its normal slicked down look.

"Ah. Of course it is. Come in." Stan stepped aside, letting us enter. Bill pushed Pam's bag into Stan's hands. Speaking of Pam, she was standing just beyond the door near a tan colored sofa. She wore a long white satin bathrobe. Her hair was drawn back into a long blonde ponytail. Her eyes were fixed passed me to Stan and Bill.

"Did you get it?" She asked.

"Yes." I nodded. Pam shot me a quick glance, but turned immediately back to the two men.

Bill was still holding the leather case. He held it up. Pam nodded. Stan pushed the bag he was holding into her hands.

"Thank you." He looked at me, nodding to the bag. "That was also very important."

Pam didn't respond. She'd put the bag down on the back of the sofa and was ruffling through it. Looking up at me, she sighed.

"This is Fangtasia only eye shadow. You'll have to go back for the rest."

"I think you'll make due just fine with that." Stan informed her calmly. Pam sulked for a moment, but gave in. I was surprised. Eric had been the only one I'd seen have any real control over her, but Stan appeared to have developed the same power.

"So what's in there?" I nodded to the black leather bag Bill was holding.

"We were just about to have a snack." Stan said, glancing at Pam. "Drink?" He looked between Bill and I. Bill nodded, so I did the same.

"Good." Stan headed to a small kitchenette. It was nothing more than a sink, a mini-fridge and a microwave with some cabinets around them.

I realized the room had to have been a suite, most likely the best room in the building given Stan's status and Eric's ownership. It had the same dark walls that the lobby had, but it was accented with shades of gold, tan and orange. Aside from the kitchenette, I saw a door while led to what appeared to be a bathroom. Just down from there were two smaller rooms with their own doors. Vampire bedrooms? Maybe. In all, I thought it looked nice, but not very comfortable. Expensive was more the word.

"Sookie, cola? Orange…stuff?" Stan was looking at bottles in refrigerator. "Bill, O, A, B?"

"O." Bill stated.

"Cola." I said.

Stan took his time getting our drinks. He microwaved three bottles of True Blood and calmly filled a glass with ice before pouring Coca Cola into the glass. Gathering the four drinks onto a tray, he brought them to where we were standing.

"This." He handed the glass to me. "O," he passed to Bill, "B Negative," he handed to Pam and kept the last for himself.

"What's so secretive about what's in the bag?" I asked, hoping that Stan was done playing host in his bathrobe and was ready to explain what all the big deal was.

Bill handed Stan the leather case. He unzipped it and pulled out a worn leather book.

"Hallow's spell book." He nodded, turning the item over in his hands as though it was a special gift.

"Why do we need that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"To keep it from falling into the wrong hands." Pam hadn't made a further comment about her clothing since Stan had told her to quiet down. "You heard what Winifred Sanderson said. She wants to start searching places to locate Hallow's things. We should burn it."

"It will be safe here." Stan said. "And this is too valuable to lose."

"How do you know it will be so safe here?" I asked. I figured it was probably safer to side with Pam on this one. She apparently wasn't winning any battles with Stan tonight.

"Because Eric is paying a fortune for security on this hotel." Stan told me, looking up from the spell book. "For vampires, this is the safest place in town. Hence the reason." He nodded towards Pam before turning to her.

"You're certain this is the last of Hallow's things in your home?" Pam gave him a look like I'd never seen before and rolled her eyes. Stan didn't ask for an answer. He merely held up his hands in surrender.

"I'm just saying."

"Everything I had is at Fangtasia, which Eric said that he and Clancy would dispose of this evening. Clancy holds a grudge against Hallow. After what she did to him."

I'd forgotten about that. Clancy must have been furious that Hallow's family had turned up again.

"Well, the book is here now. So that should be the last of the full links to us. The Sandersons will have no true connection to us other than their own suspicions."

A sudden clicking sound made me jump, but the vampire didn't seem to notice.

"Automatic panels," Stan told me. "They automatically close over the living room windows an hour before daylight."

Bill was glancing at his watch. I knew it was close to dawn. I was getting exhausted. Almost on cue, Pam yawned.

Stan closed the small distance between he and Pam. He laid one hand on her back and the other on her cheek and murmured something into her ear before brushing his lips against her opposite cheek. She nodded and picked up the bag Bill and I had brought.

"Thank you, again." She glanced from the two of us to the bag and nodded.

"You'll need to stay." Stan told Bill as Pam left the room. "There's plenty of room and it's very late."

"I'll do that." Bill agreed without hesitation. It must have been weighing on his mind before it was spoken.

"Sookie darling, you can stay as well. The room sleeps seven." Stan told me, taking a drink of his blood.

"No thanks, I'll be fine getting home."

Stan shrugged, he apparently didn't really care if I got home or not. The woman whose safety was valuable to him was safely tucked into a nearby room about to die for the day. If I fell asleep on the drive back to Bon Temps, well, Stan didn't exactly have another problem on his hands.

"I'll be going then." I looked at Bill and held out my hand. He dropped the keys into my palm before guiding me towards the door.

"Be very careful getting home." He warned me. "I'm sure Eric has a plan for you during the day."

"Yeah, sure he does." After what I'd seen of Eric tonight, I wasn't sure. Pam was his family as well as vampires went and he hadn't exactly been protective of her tonight, so why worry about a "breather?

"Don't worry. Go on home." Bill opened the door for me. I nodded.

"Good night Stan." Stan gave me a faint wave before turning towards the doorway Pam had gone into.

"Have a good day, Sookie."

And then Bill was easing me out of the door and it was closed behind me. I guess it was time to go home.


End file.
